American target missile. Space Vector Corporation developed and flew the Aries test vehicle (based on the Minuteman 1 second stage) for Strategic Defence Initiative payloads.

The Naval Research Laboratory contracted with Space Vector Corporation to develop a single-stage sounding rocket using surplus Minuteman I second stages. Informally called 'Fat Albert', the first was launched with a dummy payload on 17 October 1973.

The Aries mated the Aerojet M56 solid-propellant rocket stage to four fixed tail fins (surplus from retired Talos missiles) and a nose cone. Four gimballed nozzles provided stearing, keyed by a new guidance and control system. Since it was not an unguided rocket, the Aries could be launched from confined firing ranges. The Aries was later used by NASA to launch X-ray and UV telescopes into space. Maximum payload capacity was 1590 kg / 3500 lb. USAF and NASA launched more than 20 Aries rockets on scientific missions until the early 1990s.

The Aries was also used by the military as a target launch vehicle for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. The majority of these tests launched targets for the U.S. Navy's RIM-156B SM-2 Block IV A and RIM-161 SM-3 interceptor missiles. Until the end of 2004, a total of more than 50 Aries rockets had been launched, and use as a ballistic missile target vehicle is continuing. Prime contractor for Aries-type target boosters was later Orbital Sciences Corporation, which renamed the rocket the TTV (Target Test Vehicle).

The retirement of the U.S. Air Force's LGM-30A-B Minuteman I ICBM in the late 1960s and early 1970s made hundreds of high-performance solid-fueled rocket stages surplus. In 1971, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) realized, that the second stage of the Minuteman I could be used to create a powerful single-stage sounding rocket, and contracted Space Vector Corp. (SVC) to build this vehicle. The rocket was initially called "Fat Albert", but the name was soon changed to Aries. The first Aries was successfully launched with a dummy payload on 17 October 1973.

The Aries was essentially an Aerojet M56 solid-propellant rocket stage fitted with four fixed tail fins and a nose cone. The M56 was steered by four gimballed nozzles, and SVC developed a new guidance and control system which was more suited to sounding rockets than the one of the ICBM. Other than most sounding rockets, the Aries was thus a fully guided missile and could therefore be used from relatively confined firing ranges. It was also by far the most powerful single-stage sounding vehicle, and could lift a payload of 820 kg (1800 lb) to more than 320 km (200 miles). The highest apogee reached by an Aries was 512 km (318 miles).

After the first two Aries tests, the configuration was slightly changed. The tail skirt was altered and the original fins (which had been taken from surplus RIM-8 Talos missiles) were replaced by a new design. The Aries was used by NASA to launch especially large and heavy payloads above the atmosphere, like X-ray and UV telescopes. Maximum payload capacity was 1590 kg (3500 lb). USAF and NASA launched more than 20 Aries rockets on scientific missions until the early 1990s.

The Aries was also used by the military as a target launch vehicle for tests of anti-ballistic missiles. The majority of these tests launched targets for the U.S. Navy's RIM-156B SM-2 Block IV A and RIM-161 SM-3 interceptor missiles. Until the end of 2004, a total of more than 50 Aries rockets has been launched, and use as a ballistic missile target vehicle is continuing. Current prime contractor for Aries-type target boosters is Orbital Sciences Corporation, which is calling the rocket the TTV (Target Test Vehicle).

Specifications

Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Wallops Island Small NASA launch site for sounding rocket launches and occasional Scout launches to orbit. Air launches are conducted from the Drop Zone Wallops Island, 37.00 N 72.0 W. With the last orbital launch in 1985 and the decline in sounding rocket launches, Wallops fell into near-disuse as a launch center. Its fortunes revised with the establishment of Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in 2005 and orbital launches resumed in 2010. More...

White Sands White Sands Missile Range occupies an area 160 x 65 km in the Tularosa Basin of southern New Mexico, across the Sacramento Mountain range from Roswell. In the 1930's, Robert Goddard, after surveying weather conditions and population densities, had selected Roswell for his pioneering rocket tests. White Sands, a true desert area, was even more unpopulated than Roswell. German advances in rocketry during World War II impelled the US Army to begin programs to exploit this technology. The White Sands Proving Ground was established for testing German and American long-range rockets on 9 July 1945. Seven days later the first atomic bomb was exploded at Trinity Site, near the north boundary of the range. The first launch of a Tiny Tim rocket was on 26 September 1945. On 11 October a Tiny Tim boosted a WAC Corporal rocket from the tower. This was the first use of Launch Complex 33, later to be used for V-2, Nike, Viking, Corporal, Lance and Multiple Launch Rocket System testing. More...

Cape Canaveral America's largest launch center, used for all manned launches. Today only six of the 40 launch complexes built here remain in use. Located at or near Cape Canaveral are the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, used by NASA for Saturn V and Space Shuttle launches; Patrick AFB on Cape Canaveral itself, operated the US Department of Defense and handling most other launches; the commercial Spaceport Florida; the air-launched launch vehicle and missile Drop Zone off Mayport, Florida, located at 29.00 N 79.00 W, and an offshore submarine-launched ballistic missile launch area. All of these take advantage of the extensive down-range tracking facilities that once extended from the Cape, through the Caribbean, South Atlantic, and to South Africa and the Indian Ocean. More...

San Nicolas Military facility on the California Channel Islands, used for rocket launches in support of other missile tests from Vandenberg or Point Mugu. Known to have been used for 35 launches from 1957 to 2004, reaching up to 443 kilometers altitude. More...

Barking Sands Military missile test and sounding rocket launch site. In use from 1962 to present. Sandia National Laboratories operates the Kauai Test Facility for the Department of Energy and, through inter-Service Support Agreements provides the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility with rocket launch services for target systems and upper atmosphere measurements. PMRF/KTF is recognized in the INF Treaty as an authorized site from which launches of the STARS missile can be conducted. The site was recently involved in anti-ballistic missile tests. Known to have been used for 2320 launches from 1962 to 2007, reaching up to 1000 kilometers altitude. More...

Kiruna The sounding rocket launch site at Kiruna was officially opened in September 1966 under the auspices of ESRO (European Space Research Organisation). When ESA was created in 1972 and replaced ESRO, Kiruna came under the management of the Swedish Space Corporation, a state-owned limited liability company under the Swedish Ministry of Industry. The 'Esrange' is located 45 km from the town of Kiruna and has seven permanent pads able to launch the largest sounding rockets, including the Black Brant 9, Skylark 12, and Castor 4B-boosted vehicles. More...

Eareckson Sounding rocket launch location known to have been used for 701 launches from 1975 to 1989, reaching up to 300 kilometers altitude. More...

Matagorda Island Launch site for sounding rockets and commercial launch vehicles. Good site for southerly launches into a variety of orbits but no tracking facilities. Known to have been used for at least 2 launches in 1981 - 1982. More...

Kodiak In January 1998, the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation began building a commercial spaceport at Narrow Cape on Kodiak Island, about 400 km south of Anchorage and 40 km southwest of the City of Kodiak. Kodiak Island was advertised as one of the best locations in the world for polar launch operations, providing a wide launch azimuth and unobstructed downrange flight path. More...

Cape Canaveral LC20 Titan, Super Chief, Loki, Prospector, Aries launch complex. Complexes 15, 16, 19, and 20 were built for the Titan ballistic missile program. The sites were accepted by the U.S. Government between February and mid-September 1959. All four sites supported Titan I launches in 1959 and the early 1960s. Complex 20 was modified to support four Titan IIIA flights which took place between 1 September 1964 and 7 May 1965. The site was deactivated in April 1967, but it got a new lease on life toward the end of the 1980s. Complex 20 was selected for the Starbird program in 1987, and it supported a Starbird launch on 18 December 1990. Between 18 June 1991 and 29 May 1993, the complex supported the commercial Joust-1 launch and four Red Tigress and Red Tigress II missions sponsored by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. Much of Complex 20's electronic equipment and both of its rail launchers were removed in 1995, rendering the site inactive. More...

White Sands LC36 Terrier, Redstone, Nike, Little Joe II, Honest John, Black Brant, Storm, Aries, Apollo LES launch complex. Originally designated Army Launch Area 2, LC36 was later a LC36 was a NASA facility that supported tests of the Apollo Launch Escape System. It was also used to launch NASA sounding rocket missions. The complex included a blockhouse, launch control equipment, and launchers with environmental shelters. These launchers included:

BEAR Active plasma mission - .
Nation: USA. Agency: SDIO. Apogee: 195 km (121 mi). The Beam Experiment Aboard Rocket (BEAR) payload was recovered with minimal damage via parachute after an 11-minute flight to a maximum altitude of 195 km. The neutral partical beam experiment was provided by Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Attitude Control System spun-up the payload at various rates and orientations with respect to the earths magnetic field after separation from the booster. After re-entry, at 5,000 m, the nose was jettisoned and the recovery parachute system deployed. The payload impacted the ground at less than 30 feet per second. The BEAR mission was declared a total success by SDIO.